Several newspapers, including Le Figaro, Le Monde, Le Parisien, and Les Échos, are suing the social media network X (formerly Twitter) for using their content without paying.
The newspapers are alleging the US social media company is violating "neighbouring rights" laws, they announced on Tuesday in a statement.
Neighbouring rights in copyright were established for digital platforms in 2019 by an EU directive. They enable newspapers, magazines, and news agencies to receive payment when their content is reused by digital giants.
This joint action against X, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, is being taken to the Paris Judicial Court by the publishers of Le Figaro, Les Échos, Le Parisien, Le Monde, Télérama, Courrier International, The Huffington Post, Malesherbes Publications, and Le Nouvel Observateur.
Prior to this, these newspapers, along with the AFP, had initiated urgent proceedings against X and its French subsidiary for refusing to negotiate.
On 24 May, the urgent matters judge of the Paris Judicial Court ruled in favour of the newspapers, ordering X to provide commercial data within two months to evaluate the revenue generated from their content.
X/Twitter has not complied with this decision to date, demonstrating a continuous refusal to meet its legal obligations, the newspapers stated to justify their new legal action.
